The chestnut-crowned antpitta (''Grallaria ruficapilla'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family Grallariidae. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and heavily degraded former forest, which it has a much greater tolerance for than most antpittas. Usually this bird lives at elevations of . It is mid-sized for an antpitta, averaging long. It has an orange-rufous head and nape. The back is olive brown and the throat is white. The belly is white overlaid with black-brown streaking, mainly on the sides and the flanks. The legs are gray-blue. This combination of field marks renders this species fairly distinctive when seen. Though shy and secretive like all ''

Grallaria ''Grallaria'' is a large genus of Neotropical birds in the antpitta family Grallariidae. The genus was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the variegated antpitta (''Grallaria varia'') as the type spe ...

'' to some extent, this species hops into the open reasonably often, though rarely far from cover. Most often they range into open areas at or soon after dawn. In some areas, this species has become habituated to being fed worms, and in exchange can be watched by birdwatchers. The frequently heard song is often delivered from a slightly elevated perch and is loud, distinctive repeated "wheuu".

References

* ''The Birds of Ecuador'' by Robert S. Ridgely & Paul Greenfield. Cornell University Press (2001), .

External links

chestnut-crowned antpitta Birds of the Northern Andes chestnut-crowned antpitta Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Frédéric de Lafresnaye {{Grallariidae-stub